New Design Team

Wow, I feel like I am just full of announcements this month (well next month too since my next reveal won't happen until then!). The one that I can announce now is that I was selected to be one of the new Design Team members for the Paper Temptress. Paper Temptress is an online paper and ribbon store and let me tell you the paper is simply awesome. So many varieties and all are the special paper that just makes you happy! I cannot wait to begin to show you projects with this paper (and I haven't even touched the ribbon yet!). Thanks for letting me share my news and for checking out my kind of engineering!

Wedding Love and Scottish Family

Whew! Still recovering from the weekend...and on top of that a lovely cold to go along with it! We celebrated the wedding of two amazing people over the weekend and enjoyed all of the festivities to go along with it! It was a family wedding where was a Bridesmaid, my husband was an usher, and Grandparents were involved during the ceremony. So I tried to lay out a detailed schedule (following the bride's equally detailed schedule to help us get through the day with happy kids and yet get everyone where they needed to be on time. Only hiccup was I never planned to wake up the day of the wedding to a feverish little girl. She was really hot and barely moving, so I had to run out and get motrin. On top of that she decided to throw up on me a little in the elevator as the doors opened and there was someone standing there (and someone in the elevator with me). So plans were changed up and my husband was exhausted after the day, but we made it through and had fun for most of it (at least when the medicine was keeping the fever down!). Now apparently we are realizing that there is some sort of 24 hour bug going around because my son is experiencing the same thing today. So we are trying to get everyone healthy (including myself with this lovely cold).

So this is the card I made for the bride and groom for the wedding. It was also done for the Paper Crafts July Gallery Challenge: The Boys of Summer, Matt, Brad, and Chip (in other words use matting, brads, and/or chipboard on your card). I ended up incorporating all of the "boys" on my card! The shimmer letters were stuck on white cardstock and cut out (which is my matting portion). They were arranged on a heart chipboard piece that I covered with Raspberry Cream paper from the Bittersweet Collection by Basic Grey. All of that was then adhered to a Basic Black strip that I adhered lace to underneath. Then I added gold brads around my heart...this part I am not so sure looks right, but oh well!

So as I promised, I thought I would share a few pics from our weekend. It was my husband's close cousin that got married. She married a lovely gentleman that was born and grew up in Scotland. So he and most of the groomsmen (one of them was from England and apparently they don't wear kilts) wore kilts. Since my husband and his brother were Ushers, they decided to rent some kilts too. Then since my husband was going to wear a kilt, my son wanted to as well. So can I just tell you that I really love the Scottish kilts...they looked so handsome and cute! I started crying when I first saw my son! And my husband looked pretty good in his too! And in case you were wondering, he started off "untraditional" in nature, but at the reception switched to "traditional"!

So this is me with hair and makeup done! Definitely don't look like this everyday!

How cuuuuttttteee is this?

My sweet girl smelling my flowers

My cutie in a moment of low fever...she LOVED the dance floor even though she was sick!

Our little Scottish family! Well not so much, but it was fun dressing up like one! BTW why am I standing so funny?

Thanks for checking out my kind of engineering!

The Engineering Details

Stamps - None; Paper - Basic White (PTI), Basic Black (SU!), Pomegranate Splash (Bazzill Basics), Raspberry Cream (Basic Grey); Ink - None; Accessories - Gold Shimmer Alpha Stickers (Making Memories), Heart Chipboard (SU!), Gold Brads (SU!), white lace (from Grandma!), scissors, dimensionals

Baby Update and a New Look

Well I hope you all don’t mind me sharing pictures and such about my life instead of just stuff I have stamped. I love blogs out there that allow you to get to know some of the people beyond their work. So anyway, I wanted to share with you a couple of the latest ultrasound pictures of our baby GIRL! That is right, we found out that Elijah is going to have a baby sister…officially and conclusively! So excited! Anyway I have two pics for you, the first one is the standard ultrasound pic. She (wow that is weird to now be able to reference the baby as she and not it!) seems to always have a hand up by her face or head. In all three ultrasounds now, she has been that way…so sweet! The second is using the 3-D technology! Pretty cool, but maybe a little freaky too. She is pressed up against the uterine wall in the shot and she looks quite gaunt as basically at this point in the pregnancy (20 weeks) she is just skin and bones. The technician said the next ultrasound will give more “adorable” typical baby pictures.




Did you notice the new look to the site? Or are you still looking at that 3-D ultrasound pic…captivating isn’t it? Well, my husband got me Photoshop Elements 6.0 for Christmas and I finally took some time (o.k. a lot of time because I am still figuring this program out!) to create a new bog header! Be nice…it is my first one. It is not the greatest, but I thought it turned out pretty good. So it will be around for awhile…probably until I get a bit more skilled with this program! I have also started adding a watermark to my pics…did you notice? I have been adjusting it here and there, but I am pretty pleased with it. Well that is enough for me. I will be posting some fabulous creations that I did over the weekend soon…I had lots of stamping time (and I am working on revamping my stamping area...stay tuned as that develops!) as my husband and son were out of town! But since they took the camera, I had to wait till they got back to take my pics!

I was Tagged!

O.k. so this is my first time being Blog Tagged, so I hope I do this right! I was tagged by Lynn Put of The Queen Scene and so I am suppose to answer some questions and then pass the tag onto two others.

1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics.
My son (eventually children) and I guess I will throw other family in there too, but so far all I have scrapbooked is basically a book that my son will eventually get (like when he is 30!).

2. What are the two best places you’ve ever been to?
This is a tough one for me…my husband and I have been lucky enough to have gone to some amazing places. All of our vacations have something totally memorable in them and the parts we tend to like best our things outdoors. But if I have to choose two, I would have to say the island of Kauai (hiking along the Na Pali coast or in the Waimea Canyon) and probably our hike to the top of Mt. Giewont in Zakopane, Poland to reach the 15 meter high cross that has been placed at the top…truly an amazing hike and view! I am kind of curious what two my husband would pick now!

3. Name two things you do every day.
Kiss my son (a lot…especially like to get his neck because it makes him giggle...love that giggle!) and kiss my husband (he is such a wonderful man, how could I not kiss him?!)

4. Name to things that pretty much everyone knows about you.
I like to be crafty and my laugh is pretty loud (o.k. probably very loud…oh well!...you always know where I am because I like to laugh a lot)

5. What are your two favorite stores?
Probably Michael’s and JoAnn’s…I know so basic. I need to find a good scrapbooking store nearby…a new Archivers opened up but I haven’t been yet. I frequent Wal-mart an awful lot, but I wouldn't call it a favorite...it just tends to be the cheapest!

6. What are your two favorite accessories to stamp/scrap with?
Brads and sparkle (glitter, Stickles, etc.)

7. What are your two favorite occasions to make cards for?
Baby and Female Birthdays (so I can use flowers, ribbon, glitter, etc) and Christmas is up there too.

8. What time of day or night are you able to do the most stamping?
After 9 pm when little one is finally asleep, unless I get a chance during naptime on the days I am home…but usually that is reserved for cleaning (yuck!)

9. What two things do a lot of people NOT know about me?
This is a tough one since I feel like for the most part I am an open book, wear my heart on my sleeve kinda gal. I guess one would be that I am pretty quick to cry…I have a horrible tendency to cry (or at least well-up where I have to fight those tears from falling) when I am frustrated or mad...not good for those very frustrating times at work! I cry when I am happy or sad (although they are two different types of cries). I cry watching TV shows and simply when someone else is crying. But for some reason, I try to hide all of this crying…not really sure why. But my face, I am pretty sure, is a tell-all sign…my eyes get really bloodshot and my nose gets a little red! The second thing that not everyone knows about me is probably that I can sing pretty good. I really have no idea if I am truly good or not...I can carry a tune, but I cannot for the life of me harmonize or blankly sing acapella...I need to hear the notes to find my note. I sing at home for my son and I also am one of the song leaders in our praise band at church. Since joining the praise band, I know I have gotten better, but by no means a Star!

Well there you have it! Not sure it was terribly interesting, but maybe you know me a little better now. Thanks Lynn...sorry it took me so long to play! So now to tag two others...how about: Cheryl from Engineered Expressions (she puts out scrapbooking pages like I have never seen and it is not like they are basic ones either!) and Mary Jo from Beauty Lies Within (this is one lady that is truly an amazing artist...everything she creates is gorgeous! She probably won't be able to play, but I would love to learn more about her!).

More About Me

For a significant chunk of my life, I lived in the engineering world (Mechanical Engineer to be exact), but now my kind of engineering is just a wee bit different. Now, I am a Stay-at-Home Mom to two wonderful (on most days) children and a wife to my amazing husband. My husband, Kevin, and I met in High School...yes, High School...and have been together ever since. We have two kids, Elijah and Adilane, and one fur-child, Alex. The kids bring us such joy and some frustrations (which I tend to talk about on my blog...my sort of therapy, I guess) and we couldn't be happier! In addition to my crafty side, I also get involved with my church's music ministry. I have done music with the Sunday School children, helped organize Christmas Programs, and sing weekly with the Praise Team band.

I was introduced to stamping in 1998 when a friend and I took a stamping class at a local craft store. From that I decided to make my Christmas cards (and have ever since), but I didn't really get obsessed until I joined Stampin' Up! I was a Hobby Demonstrator for a little over 7 years where I held stamp camps and classes in my home and did the occasional workshop. The best part about it was getting new stuff without my husband knowing...it was all for the business!! Once I got to a point of not being able to make the quarterly minimums with my current amount of effort, I decided to step away. Now I dabble with all sorts of stamps, paper, etc and keep my new purchases a little sparser...afterall my husband now can see how much I spend!

My style is fairly simple, organized, and usually symmetrical (the engineering side of me) . I sometimes break out of that mold to the amazement of myself. I love learning new techniques and finding new projects to make. While stamping cards is the biggest part of what I work on, I have found joy in scrapbooking a books for my children. They may not actually get their books until they are 30 or so (it will take me that long to finish it), but I will love every minute of it. Occasionally, I will make 3-D projects, altered items and the yearly birthday cakes...so I hope you find a little inspiration here in my kind of engineering!

By the way, if you like the little cartoon representing me, you can make your own at www.blessthischick.com. Have fun!